Police: Hidden camera shows nanny abusing baby

By Robert Stanton |
August 17, 2012
| Updated: August 17, 2012 9:56pm

Tirza Bethsaida Magana, 48, is charged with felony endangering a child. The suspect, a nanny, was fired by a Houston family after she was seen on videotape abusing a baby in her care.

A nanny for a Houston family faces a felony child endangerment charge after hidden surveillance footage showed her abusing a toddler in her care in May, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Tirza Bethsaida Magana, 48, was released from the Harris County Jail after posting $10,000 bail, court records show.

The baby's parents told police that they noticed that the infant "was acting strange" and appeared lethargic when they would return from work, according to an arrest warrant filed Wednesday.

The family installed a recording device in the baby's room at their southwest Houston residence, and what the footage revealed was shocking, investigators said. The family fired the nanny and called police. In the videotape, Magana was seen suffocating the baby, carrying her around by the head and tossing her in the crib, the arrest warrant states. The child is about 7 months old.

"Dr. Lahoti found the (victim) to be at risk for suffocation and/or neck or spine injury due to the actions of the defendant," the court document states. Lahoti said "the video captures events that could have led to suffocation with resultant brain injury and/or neck injury."

When investigators showed Magana the surveillance video, she "admitted to covering the (victim's) mouth and nose with her hands, preventing the (baby) from breathing and (while the baby was) continuing to cry," according to the arrest warrant.

Magana told police that "she had been suffocating the (baby) numerous times each day for approximately a month" and that she knew "her actions could have killed the baby," investigators said.